Funders and support

Local residents and businesses:
192 backers contributed to the crowdfunding campaign including local residents, businesses and organisations. (see crowdfunding)

“Once completed, it will be a real asset for Peckham residents.”
Councillor Michael Situ 27 May 2016

“This is a much needed resource in the community! And an opportunity for all to get involved from the grass roots!”
Denise Baird, 18 July 2016

“This would be a huge asset to the area – an exciting community project with so many interesting facets.”
Alex Crawford, 20 May 2016 21:25

“This will be an excellent space for our young people to hangout which will increase their confidence and well being.”
Carol Ossai-Nwosu, 25 June 2016

The Old Kent Road studios were selected as part of the Mayor’s Civic crowdfunding campaign and in June 2016 recieved the maxiumum pledge of £20K towards the transformation of the garages on the Ledbury Estate into an archade of workshops and spaces for socialising. This funding facilitated a series of workshops and public events that tested possibilities in the space, created links to local networks and ascertained the need for a local skill building programme.

In 2016 Southwark Council offered the lease for the Ledbury garages and funded by Southwark’s Highstreet Challenge Fund the Livesey Exchange business plan and mangement structure was developed.
Following the initial testing phase and the discovery of structural isssues on the Ledbury Estate, an alternative location for the Livesey Exchange was identified and Good Growth Funding was secured for the construction of a new building on a vacant site on Old Kent Road owned by Southark Council.

“It has been thrilling to visit the Livesey Exchange today – and to see the start of a journey which will bring local jobs and opportunities for local residents – genuinly inspired by everyone’s commitment and enthusiasm.”
Leader of the Council, Peter John, 3.03.17

“The project is a true community-led project which emerged from a groundswell of local initiative to support people in the Peckham area by offering a safe place to meet and gain the skills and training necessary to be able to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the scale of change in the regeneration of the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area. At every stage of the evolution of the project, the impetus has come from the drive and determination of the community enablers and the community itself with the Council and the GLA acting in a supporting role to help steer the project forward. The design team is made up of local practitioners whose commitment to working with the community has been evidenced throughout the process. Based on sound first principles of environmentally conscious design and best practice, the resulting scheme for a temporary building demonstrates a hugely satisfying achievement that is clever, stylish and good value for money. Its proposed location on the Old Kent Road, alongside the extensive and high-rise pipeline development projects, will provide a welcome counter-point in scale and character. Funded by a mix of public funding (GLA / LBS), private funding (AirBnB) and crowdfunding sourced from the local community, this project exemplifies what a community project can be and is one with which the Council is proud to be associated.”Matt Derry, Senior Regeneration Manager, LB Southwark, April 2020

Southwark Tenant Fund:In 2016 the Southwark Tenant Fund contributed to the crowdfunding campaign and pledged funding towards the construction of the building.

“The Tenants Fund Management Committee and the Tenants Council support this project because we see it as an important community resource within Southwark’s proposed Old Kent Road Area Action Plan (AAP) and will provide a hub for training, meetings, and information to the residents within the AAP.The AAP will affect twenty one housing estates and thousands of our members. It is important that local residents are involved in the development as it evolves and have the training and skills to effectively participate in this twenty year project.”
Ian Ritchie, Chair TFMC

In 2016 Airbnb made a considerable contributed to the crowdfunding campaign and further supported the development of the website. In 2017 Airbnb funded the publication ‘Old Kent Road – a place of industry‘ developed by the Peckham Weeklies in collaboration with the Livesey Exchange volunteers.

“The Old Kent Road Studios is an inspiring and innovative project that will transform the Southwark community and enrich the lives of locals. We believe technology and innovation should bring people together and help build vibrant communities; this is at the heart of everything Airbnb does. We are thrilled to support this grassroots movement and to see Airbnb hosts work alongside partners from Southwark Council and the Greater London Authority to make London a better place for everyone.”Airbnb, 2016